Little museum reminds us freedom wasn’t easy

Some years ago, I was working on a story about hidden recreational gems in the Seacoast and stumbled onto the American Independence Museum.

It’s hidden away in downtown Exeter and one of those places that sounds kind of interesting. Until you go inside. Then you exclaim, “Wow! I never knew this was here.”

Well, it almost wasn’t here anymore.

Unbeknownst to many, the Independence Museum fell on hard times in 2012. Very hard times.

Some $50,000 in the red that year, this historical gem laid off its staff and went dark. It might not have survived except the crisis shocked the many volunteers and local residents who realized how important the place is.

Financial crises are nothing new to small, historical venues. Especially so recently due to the recession and what seems to be an abundance of such places.

But the Independence Museum is not just another collection of period artifacts and the community rallied around it.

The board launched an intense year of “transition, rebuilding and reinvigoration,” explained Allison Field, board president.

This involved a successful membership drive, new staff and volunteers, expanded exhibits, programs, sponsorships and social media activity. The result was a re-opening, a doubling of revenue last year and what looks to be a bright future.

As Ukrainians deal with a Russian land grab, and Middle Easterners struggle against unjust regimes the American Revolution is especially relevant. We tend to forget what the Colonists went through when they declared independence against the British Crown.

It pitted neighbor against neighbor and was a rebellion that shocked and inspired the world. As the only — yes only — museum dedicated to this period in our history, the American Independence Museum in Exeter has huge importance.

Housed in two historic buildings off Water Street, the museum began in 1991 when a copy of the Declaration of Independence was discovered under floorboards in the Ladd-Gilman House. This is the main building of the museum now.

The home of New Hampshire’s first governor, John Taylor Gilman, it is preserved just as it was back then when family members and indeed all residents of the Colonies would have wrestled with the issues.

There is the fireplace where they probably huddled to warm themselves while debating whether to take up arms against English rule.

Two weeks after the announcement of the Declaration of Independence by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, a copy known as the Dunlap Broadside (the one on display here) reached New Hampshire and was read to the people by Gilman. (Later his brother, Nicholas Jr., was a state delegate to the Constitutional Congress and a signer of the Constitution.)

Also here are rare drafts of the U.S. Constitution, an original Purple Heart awarded by none other than Gen. George Washington to Revolutionary soldiers for bravery, artifacts from the nation’s oldest veterans group — the Society of the Cincinnati – and furnishings, ceramics, silver, textiles and more.

We can only imagine the emotions and risks people faced back then. Which is why this museum’s importance far outweighs its size.

“We offer the ability to take people back in time and imagine what it was like to rebel for our freedom,” said Julie Hall Williams, executive director.

There is reason why the museum has visitors from around the world. Sadly, it doesn’t have enough from our own backyard and almost was lost to us. Now it is back and has a robust series of events planned this year.

These include a free opening day celebration May 3 and what promises to be a spectacular American Independence Festival July 12.

Besides more visitors, what the museum really needs are citizens who care enough about preserving the history of our nation and its just cause to pay for an annual membership.

For information call 603-772-2622 or go to independencemuseum,org.

This is a tough time for the world. This little museum offers valuable clues how freedom can be achieved.

In a way, helping to keep it going is a patriotic duty. Freedom isn’t free.

Jeremiah Turner can be reached at jturner@fosters.com.

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